The Difficult Airway

Patients who are obese, as defined by a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 may be more difficult to intubate than non-obese patients. Traditional methods of airway assessment such as Mallampati score, mouth opening, and thyromental distance may not be the best predictors of difficult intubation. Patients who are scheduled to have non-stat surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital will be asked to participate in this study and sign a written consent form. Physiologic measurements including but not limited to thyromental distance, sternomental distance, Mallampati score, mouth opening, interincisor distance, and mandibular protrusion will be measured and recorded. All measurements are non invasive. The remaining aspects of perioperative care, including the general anesthetic technique, will be standardized for all patients and will not differ from the standard of care. There will be no incentive or payment to the patients. This prospective study is intended to enroll 4500 consecutive surgical patients. Lean patients (BMI \< 30 kg/m2) who are intubated by the same anesthesia providers during the same time period will be included as the control group and to report the incidence of difficult mask ventilation and difficult intubation in our general surgical population, which has not previously been defined.